I'm considering converting to Catholicism

  • Thread starter Thread starter Merqutio
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Merqutio said:
Someone told me to begin a RCIA program, but I don’t know how to get started. I am a little anxious about all of this. . 🙂
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The RCIA program always starts with the inquiry portion, where you can get all your questions answered before going any further.
As for the rest of your questions, you might search on the Catholic Answers radio program archives on the topics you have questions on, They have had many shows covering the items you mentioned.
 
Gov’t health warning: Catholicsm does not have all the answers.

But it is the bes there is in my view. I love life, get a great buzz out of it. Willing to lay down my life for it. It is that special.

God made us to enjoy His creation. Catholics enjoy.

Hope you enjoy too
 
Merqutio said:
I am looking through the library, but I haven’t found the answer to one of my questions. Can someone give me an overview of the RCIA program? What does it entail exactly?
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RCIA is the Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults. This program will be the basis of faith formation you need to fully understand the Catholic Faith. Whether you come from a different denomination or faith, or were not raised religiously, the adult discerning the Catholic Church needs the faith formation that I was raised with. The cradle Catholic, like me, goes through several of their childhood years in CCD (Sunday School) learning about the Faith. As the years progress, different Sacrements occur. First Holy Eucharist and First Reconcilitation happen around 7-9 years old. When the Catholic hits 15-17 years old, then it is time for them to “confirm” their faith through the Sacrement of Confirmation.

RCIA, however, is a year long process that covers the gambit of Catholic Theology. The classes are designed for all circumstances, so, for instance, if you were of a different Christian denomination, then the early classes will seem redundant and boring because these classes are trying to demonstrate to those who were atheist or non-religious and have no foundation for Christianity, everything we believe and why. For example, the Trinity or the Incarnation, etc. RCIA is a process of building a foundation for a blossoming Catholic faith. And, as the year passes and your Spirit blossoms, then you’ll have the choice to receive all the Rites of Christian Initiation at the Easter Vigil Mass. I went to the Easter Vigil Mass this year and I felt the presence of the Lord there.

I will keep you in my prayers.

Dominus vobsicum
 
Merqutio said:
Is there a test at the end of RCIA?
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Yes. There is both a written test and a physical test.

Are you in pretty good shape?

(kidding!)

No, no test. Call your local parish. I think you will really enjoy RCIA - I did. You’ll never know unless you give it a try.

God Bless!
 
carol_marie said:
Yes. There is both a written test and a physical test.

Are you in pretty good shape?

(kidding!)

No, no test. Call your local parish. I think you will really enjoy RCIA - I did. You’ll never know unless you give it a try.

God Bless!
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Carol don’t forget the Polygraph, Pshyc and oral board 😃

This is actually a good question, this was one of the things I was worried about. No one told me there wouldn’t be a test, I just figured there would be (I dont know why maybe because I am a college student and everything is a test) so the whole time during RCIA I was taking notes like crazy and then when it was over, I felt kind of cheated because I was ready for that test.
 
I tend to be a bit of a shy person. When I receive the sacraments, will it be a private ceremony, or in front of the whole congregation? Do I have to pay to take the RCIA course?
 
Merqutio said:
I tend to be a bit of a shy person. When I receive the sacraments, will it be a private ceremony, or in front of the whole congregation? Do I have to pay to take the RCIA course?
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Presumably, no for the last question.
 
Merqutio said:
I tend to be a bit of a shy person. When I receive the sacraments, will it be a private ceremony, or in front of the whole congregation? Do I have to pay to take the RCIA course?
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Normally it’s a pretty big whoop-de-do. Everyone is so excited that you’re joining the Church - they are just so happy for you. Usually it’s at an Easter Vigil service - which is a mass held the night before Easter Sunday. But hopefully your RCIA class will be large enough that you can blend in? I think there were around 25 people in mine.

You could always talk to the Priest if it makes you nervous to be “out there” so to speak. I wouldn’t worry about it.

And yes, it’s free. In our class we were given a Bible, a CCC, and a few other books… all free. Oh, and plus they served donuts every week. It’s all good. 👍
 
We had to pay for our CCC (so you may have to buy one, may not have too, it was only like 5 bucks so) but we were given a Bible, other than that no fee what so ever.
 
I am in the process of uploading The Fundamentals of Catholicism by Fr Altier onto my website (the Family - password only pages) for my family. They are in MP3 format and can be found at trueteaching.net/

There is permission to download them. They are:

1-God:Unity and Trinity (Part 1)- 1/8/04
1-God:Unity and Trinity (Part 2)- 1/8/04

2-Creation and Original Sin (part 1)- 9/20/01
2-Creation and Original Sin (part 2)- 9/20/01

3-Jesus Christ: God and Man (part 1)- 1/22/04
3-Jesus Christ: God and Man (part 2)- 1/22/04

4-Mary (part 1)- 1/29/04
4-Mary (part 2)- 1/29/04

5-The Church (part 1)- 2/5/04
5-The Church (part 2)- 2/5/04

6-Divine Revelation (part 1)- 2/12/04
6-Divine Revelation (part 2)- 2/12/04

7-Grace and The Divine Life (part 1)- 2/19/04
7-Grace and The Divine Life (part 2)- 2/19/04

8-Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation & Anointing of the Sick (Part 1)
8-Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation & Anointing (Part 2)- 11/1/01

9-The Eucharist (part 1)- 3/4/04
9-The Eucharist (part 2)- 3/4/04

10-Confession (part 1)- 3/11/04
10-Confession (part 2)- 3/11/04

11-Marriage and Morality (part 1)- 3/18/04
11-Marriage and Morality (part 2)- 3/18/04

12-Principles of Morality (cont’d.)-12/6/01
 
Merquito: you’ve gained some good answers so far in this thread, but why not just run down the street and have a cup of coffee with your parish priest?

You’d probably be able to cover a lot of ground pretty quick that way.

Also, the Catechism is a book worth having; very interesting in its own right. Pretty much covers the main parts of the faith. I’m a cradle Catholic and found RCIA interesting and very useful. The nice thing, for me, about Catholicism vs. other denominations is that there’s a great depth to the teachings of the church, and other denominations, to me, sometimes seem superficial in their understandings of human psychology, the complexity of society, etc.
 
Merquito,

Another good resource is EWTN. They have a website that is very helpful and full of audio files of past programs. One that I particularly like is The Journey Home: ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/seriessearchprog.asp?seriesID=-6892289&T1=journey+home

Here you can listen to others discuss their journey to Catholicism, and hear about they various issues that they dealt with.

One thing you will notice listening to this program, or the Catholic Answers live is that when guests or callers tell about converting to Catholicism, the host usually responds, “Welcome Home!” That response truly reflects how we feel. On Good Friday we pray especially for all those who are not part of the Catholic Church, that they may come to know the fullness of Truth and come home to the Church. When I think of this prayer, I think about the times as a child when I eagerly awaited my older siblings who would come home for the weekends, watching out the window, ready to run and greet them when they arrived. I feel the same way about the people who join the Church at Easter every year. I want to tell them, “We’ve been waiting for you!”
 
👋 Hello Merquito! I will pray for you. :gopray:

I hope you find your journey very enlightening.

Our hearts are restless until they rest in God. St. Augustine said that. 🙂
 
RCIA will answer all your questions, hopefully by a kind and generous teacher, like I had. It will walk you step by step through all these questions. Depending upon where you live, you can find a good RCIA program in your nearest parish or contact your Archdiocese and ask them!!! God bless and welcome home!
 
sires6 said:
RCIA will answer all your questions, hopefully by a kind and generous teacher, like I had. It will walk you step by step through all these questions. Depending upon where you live, you can find a good RCIA program in your nearest parish or contact your Archdiocese and ask them!!! God bless and welcome home!
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:yup: Yes this is true.

But you also have to be aware of “bad” RCIA classes. 😦 This is sad but true.
If you are a well learned Christian that knows their bible well, and has done some research on your own about the Catholic Church, hopefully you won’t be left wanting to teach the class. Because you just might end up teaching the class yourself. 😃

I pray you find a good one that keeps the faith and all the Truths that Holy Mother Church has to offer. :gopray:
 
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